Method for providing graphical user interface (GUI), and multimedia apparatus applying the same

ABSTRACT

A method for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) to receive a user command on a touch screen, and a multimedia apparatus using the same. The method for providing a GUI includes determining whether an enlargement command for a GUI item is received, and enlarging the GUI item. Therefore, it is possible to enable a user to operate the GUI item more correctly, and to provide the superior visual effect when the GUI item is operated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of prior application Ser.No. 12/173,981, filed on Jul. 16, 2008 in the United States Patent andTrademark Office, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) fromKorean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0011594, filed on Feb. 5, 2008, inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for providing agraphical user interface (GUI) and a multimedia apparatus using thesame, and more particularly, to a method for providing a GUI to receivea user command on a touch screen, and a multimedia apparatus using thesame.

2. Description of the Related Art

A wide variety of multimedia apparatuses has been developed with therapid advance of digital technology. As a result, the range of functionsprovided by multimedia apparatuses has increased exponentially.

Recently, the multimedia apparatuses have come to provide users withfunctions using menu items on a screen, taking the appearance of themultimedia apparatus and the convenience of accessing the multimediaapparatus into consideration. However, the screen is limited in size dueto the need to consider the portability of the multiple devices. It isdifficult for a user to operate various functions provided by theportable multiple device precisely using only the items provided on asmall screen. Therefore, there is a need for a method for providing aGUI to provide a user with the ability to manipulate items on the screenmore precisely, and to have enhanced visual effects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for providing agraphical user interface (GUI) which provides a user with the ability tomanipulate items on a touch screen more precisely, and which has superbvisual effects.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method for providing a graphical user interface (GUI), themethod including determining whether an enlargement command for a GUIitem is received through a touch screen; and enlarging and displayingthe GUI item, if it is determined that the enlargement command isreceived, wherein the GUI item enables a selection of one position fromamong a plurality of successive positions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the GUI item mayinclude at least one of a progress bar, a scroll bar and a statuscontrol bar.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the determiningoperation may include, if one of the positions on the GUI item istouched for a predetermined period of time or more, determining that theenlargement command is received; and the displaying operation mayinclude enlarging a portion of the GUI item corresponding to apredetermined interval range the center of which is the touchedposition, and displaying the enlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the determiningoperation may include, if one of the positions on the GUI item istouched more than once, determining that the enlargement command isreceived; and the displaying operation may include enlarging a portionof the GUI item corresponding to a predetermined interval range thecenter of which is the touched position, and displaying the enlarged GUIitem.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the determiningoperation may include, if a first position on the GUI item is touchedand the touched first position is dragged to a second position on theGUI item, determining that the enlargement command is received; and thedisplaying operation may include enlarging a portion of the GUI itembetween the first position and the second position, and displaying theenlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the determiningoperation may include, if a first position and a second position on theGUI item are touched simultaneously or are touched separately within apredetermined period of time, determining that the enlargement commandis received; and the displaying operation may include enlarging aportion of the GUI item between the first position and the secondposition, and displaying the enlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the determiningoperation may include, if the GUI item is touched with a circular motionso that a circle is drawn passing through a first position and a secondposition on the GUI item, determining that the enlargement command isreceived; and the displaying operation may include enlarging a portionof the GUI item between the first position and the second position, anddisplaying the enlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the displayingoperation may include, if it is determined that the enlargement commandis received, highlighting a position on the GUI item to which theenlargement command is to be applied, enlarging the GUI item anddisplaying the enlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the displayingoperation may include, if it is determined that the enlargement commandis received, outputting audio information or video information to notifythat the enlargement command has been received, enlarging the GUI itemand displaying the enlarged GUI item.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the method forproviding a GUI may further include determining whether a reductioncommand for the enlarged GUI item is received through the touch screen;and reducing the enlarged GUI item and displaying the reduced GUI item,if it is determined that the reduction command is received.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the displayingoperation may include displaying the enlarged GUI item together withcontent that has been displayed prior to reception of the enlargementcommand.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention,there is provided a multimedia apparatus including a touch screen toreceive an enlargement command for a graphical user interface (GUI)provided enabling a selection of one position from among a plurality ofsuccessive positions; and a control unit to control the GUI item to beenlarged and displayed, if it is determined that the enlargement commandis received.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the GUI item mayinclude at least one of a progress bar, a scroll bar and a statuscontrol bar.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if one of a pluralityof positions on the GUI item is touched for a predetermined period oftime or more, the control unit may determine that the enlargementcommand is received, and may control a portion of the GUI item to beenlarged corresponding to a predetermined interval range the center ofwhich is the touched position so that the enlarged GUI item may bedisplayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if one of the positionson the GUI item is touched more than once, the control unit maydetermine that the enlargement command is received, and may control aportion of the GUI item to be enlarged corresponding to a predeterminedinterval range the center of which is the touched position so that theenlarged GUI item may be displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if a first position onthe GUI item is touched and the touched first position is dragged to asecond position on the GUI item, the control unit may determine that theenlargement command is received, and may control a portion of the GUIitem to be enlarged between the first position and the second positionso that the enlarged GUI item may be displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if a first position anda second position on the GUI item are touched simultaneously or aretouched separately within a predetermined period of time, the controlunit may determine that the enlargement command is received, and maycontrol a portion of the GUI item to be enlarged between the firstposition and the second position so that the enlarged GUI item may bedisplayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if the GUI item istouched with a circular motion so that a circle is drawn passing througha first position and a second position on the GUI item, the control unitmay determine that the enlargement command is received, and may controla portion of the GUI item to be enlarged between the first position andthe second position so that the enlarged GUI item may be displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if it is determinedthat the enlargement command is received, the control unit may highlighta position on the GUI item to which the enlargement command is to beapplied, and may control the GUI item to be enlarged and displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, if it is determinedthat the enlargement command is received, the control unit may outputaudio information or video information to notify that the enlargementcommand has been received, and may control the GUI item to be enlargedand displayed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the control unit maydetermine whether a reduction command for the enlarged GUI item isreceived through the touch screen, and may control the enlarged GUI itemto be reduced so that the reduced GUI item is displayed, if it isdetermined that the reduction command is received.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the control unit maycontrol the enlarged GUI item to be displayed together with content thathas been displayed prior to reception of the enlargement command.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent and more readily appreciated from the following description ofthe embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIGS. 1A to 1G are views illustrating a method for enlarging a progressbar;

FIGS. 2A to 2D are views illustrating an enlarged progress bar;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a multimedia apparatus capable ofproviding a graphical user interface (GUI) including an enlargedprogress bar; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a GUIaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain thepresent invention by referring to the figures.

FIGS. 1A to 1G are views illustrating a method for enlarging a progressbar 130 on a touch screen 100. FIG. 1A illustrates the touch screen 100displaying graphical items. The touch screen 100 includes a screen 110to display video content being currently played back, the progress bar130 to load the current video content, and a set of items 150 to inputcommands for playing back and stopping the content, and skipping forwardand back through the content.

The video content is played back on the screen 110. According to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the content may includevideo content such as movies or dramas, music content, and contentcombining music and video. The exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention adapts video content or music content incorporating videocontent to be displayed on the touch screen 100. However, the presentinvention may also be applied to music content without accompanyingvideo. In this situation, video content may not be displayed on thescreen 110, or images can be displayed, such as album covers or pictureschosen by the user. Moreover, aspects can be utilized during recordingor editing of the contents in addition to or instead of reproducing thecontents.

The set of items 150 includes a skip back item 151, a stop item 153, aplay back or pause item 155, and a skip forward item 157. If a usertouches one of the graphical items on the touch screen 100, the commandcorresponding to the touched element is input. For example, if the userselects the skip back item 151 while position ‘A’ of a video file isdisplayed, video ten minutes prior to position ‘A’ is displayed on thescreen 110.

If the user selects the skip forward item 157, the multimedia apparatusadopts the same operational manner as the skip back item 151, so videoten minutes after position ‘A’ is displayed on the screen 110. The usermay set a skipping time other than ten minutes using operationalsettings (not illustrated).

The set of items 150 may be semitransparent, and overlap with the videocontent. The set of items 150 may appear only when the user inputs acommand to display the set of items 150, in order to minimizedisturbance while viewing the video content. Further, it is understoodthat the set of items, 150 could include additional items in addition toor instead of the shown items. Examples of such other items includevolume control, display contrast controls, system settings, filechoosing commands, etc.

The progress bar 130 conveys the progress of content currently beingplayed back. Specifically, the progress bar 130 provides a user withposition information of the portion of content which is currently beingplayed back from among the entire content to be played back. Theposition of the current portion of the content within the progress bar130 is displayed distinctly from the progress bar 130, and may berepresented using an icon or shape. However, it is understood that thecurrent position can also be indicated using colors, with all priorcontent being one color and content yet to be played being anothercolor.

In this exemplary embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG.1A, the progress bar 130 is indicated in a single line to approximatelyrepresent the entire video content, and a position indicator 135, whichhas a box shape containing a point, represents the position informationof position ‘A’ which is currently being played back. Accordingly,position ‘A’, which is currently being played back is distinguished fromthe progress bar 130.

If the user changes the part of the content which is currently beingplayed back using the set of items 150, the position indicator 135 movesto the location corresponding to the new part being played back.Alternatively, the user may change the part of the content currentlybeing played back by moving the position indicator 135 along theprogress bar 130, and thus the content is played back from a partcorresponding to the new position of the position indicator 135, as theposition indicator 135 is capable of being moved along the touch screen100 by the operation of the user.

The user may move the position indicator 135 along the progress bar 130by touching a location at which the user desires to position theposition indicator 135. The placement of the position indicator 135corresponds to the part of the content to be played back.

Hereinbelow, a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 in order toselect more exactly a desired part on the progress bar 130 and fordisplaying the enlarged progress bar 130 will be explained in detailwith reference FIGS. 1A to 1G, and 2A to 2D.

FIGS. 1A to 1G are views illustrating a method for enlarging theprogress bar 130, and

FIGS. 2A to 2D are views illustrating the enlarged progress bar 130.FIG. 1A illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bytouching the position indicator 135 for two seconds or more. Asillustrated in FIG. 1A, if the user touches the position indicator 135of the progress bar 130 on the touch screen 100 for two seconds or more,the section of the progress bar 130 between the position correspondingto 5 minutes before position ‘A’ on which the position indicator 135 islocated, and the position corresponding to 5 minutes after position ‘A’is enlarged on the touch screen 100 as shown in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2A illustrates the enlarged progress bar on the touch screen 100after the user touches the position indicator 135 for two seconds ormore as illustrated in FIG. 1A. Referring to FIG. 2A, the screen 110 andthe set of items 150 are not enlarged or reduced, and only the progressbar 130 is enlarged, such that the bar 130 allows selection of times.+−0.5 minutes of position A. However, it is understood that theenlarged bar could show more or less than .+−0.5 minutes. Comparing theenlarged progress bar 130 in FIG. 2A with the normal progress bar 130 inFIG. 1A, the position indicator 135 has been enlarged and the singleline representing the entire length of the video content has changed todouble lines representing only a section of the entire length of thevideo content. Since a section of the progress bar 130 which the userwishes to adjust is enlarged and the remaining section disappears, theuser can more precisely adjust the enlarged progress bar 130. Whiledescribed as being represented by double lines, it is understood thatthe enlarged bar 130 need not be changed in appearance from the regularbar 130 shown in FIG. 1A, and may be otherwise changed to indicate thatthe bar 130 has been enlarged.

For example, if the total duration of the video content is one hour andthe progress bar 130 is 5 cm in length, 1 cm of the progress bar 130corresponds to 12 minutes of the video content. However, since theenlarged progress bar 130 of 5 cm contains 10 minutes of video content,1 cm of the enlarged progress bar 130 contains the video content of 2minutes. Accordingly, the user can operate the progress bar 130 sixtimes more precisely to play back the video content when the bar 130 isenlarged as in FIG. 2A. Moreover, it is understood that the progress bar130 in FIG. 2A could be enlarged multiple time through the same processin order to achieve a finer resolution for the progress bar 130. Forinstance, by again touching the progress bar of FIG. 2A for 2 seconds,the progress bar 130 could be again enlarged such that where each cm ofthe again enlarged progress bar 130 includes 1 minute of the videocontent.

FIG. 1B illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bytouching a position on the progress bar 130 other than the positionindicator 135 for two seconds or more. Referring to FIG. 1B, the usercan enlarge the progress bar 130 by continuously touching position ‘B’on the progress bar 130 where the position indicator 135 is not locatedfor two seconds or more. In this situation, as illustrated in FIG. 2B,the section of the progress bar 130 between the position correspondingto 5 minutes before position ‘B’ selected by the user and the positioncorresponding to 5 minutes after position ‘B’ is enlarged on the touchscreen 100. In addition, since the user has selected position ‘B’, avideo different from the video of position ‘A’ is displayed.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bytouching the position indicator 135 twice. Referring to FIG. 10, theuser can enlarge the progress bar 130 by touching position ‘A’, wherethe position indicator 135 is located, twice in quick succession. Inthis situation, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the section of the progressbar 130 between a position corresponding to 5 minutes before position‘A’ selected by the user and a position corresponding to 5 minutes after5 minutes after position ‘A’ is enlarged on the touch screen 100. Thishas the same result as when the position indicator 135 is touched fortwo seconds or more, as shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 1D illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bytouching two positions on the progress bar 130. Referring to FIG. 1D, ifthe user selects and touches position ‘C’ and position ‘D’, the sectionof the progress bar 130 between position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ isenlarged as shown in FIG. 2C.

There are diverse manners in which position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ may betouched. That is, the user may touch position ‘C’ and then position ‘D’within a certain period of time, for example, within one second, or maytouch position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ at the same time.

In this situation, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, a section between position‘C’ and position ‘D’ is enlarged and displayed. Therefore, the user canmore precisely operate the progress bar 130 using the enlarged progressbar 130 to play back the video content.

For example, if the total duration of the video content is one hour andthe progress bar 130 is 5 cm in length, 1 cm of the progress bar 130corresponds to 12 minutes of video content. If the duration of the videocontent between position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ which are touched by theuser is 20 minutes, 1 cm of the enlarged progress bar 130 corresponds to4 minutes of video content. Accordingly, the user can operate theprogress bar 130 three times more precisely to play back the videocontent.

In this situation, unlike the example illustrated in FIG. 2A, position‘A’ may be a position on the enlarged progress bar 130 defined byposition ‘C’ and ‘D’ other than the center. In this exemplary embodimentof the present invention, positions on the right and left of theposition indicator 135 are touched, so the position indicator 135 isincluded on the enlarged progress bar 130. However, this is merely anexample for convenience of description. It is also possible to enlarge asection of the progress bar 130 excluding the position indicator 135.

FIG. 1E illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bydrawing a circle including two positions on the progress bar 130 betweenwhich the user wishes to enlarge. Referring to FIG. 1E, if the usertouches the touch screen 100 by drawing a circle including position ‘C’and position ‘D’ on the progress bar 130, the section of the progressbar 130 between position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ is enlarged.

There are diverse manners in which position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ may betouched. Accordingly, the present invention is applicable to a situationin which a user continuously touches certain portions of the progressbar 130 while passing through position ‘C’ and position ‘D’ on theprogress bar 130. For example, the user may select two positions ‘C’ and‘D’ on the progress bar 130 by drawing a letter ‘V’ including position‘C’ and position ‘D’ on the touch screen 100 instead of drawing acircle.

In this situation, a section of the progress bar 130 between position‘C’ and position ‘D’ is enlarged and displayed. Unlike the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2A, position ‘A’ may be a position on the enlargedprogress bar 130 defined by position ‘C’ and ‘D’ other than the center.

FIG. 1F illustrates a method for enlarging the progress bar 130 bytouching one of two positions on the progress bar 130 between which theuser wishes to enlarge, and performing dragging from one position to theother. Referring to FIG. 1F, if the user touches position ‘C’ on theprogress bar 130 and performs dragging from position ‘C’ to position‘D’, the section of the progress bar 130 between position ‘C’ andposition ‘D’ is enlarged, also resulting in the enlarging shown in FIG.2C.

FIG. 1G illustrates a method for enlarging a section of the progress bar130 between two positions and displaying another section of the progressbar 130 between another two positions without enlargement. Referring toFIG. 1G, the user touches with his or her fingertips or with anotherobject two positions ‘E’ and ‘F’ on the progress bar 130, and drags thepoints in contact along the progress bar 130 to another two positions‘C’ and ‘D’ and stop touching the progress bar 130. As a result, theprogress bar 130 is displayed between positions ‘C’ and ‘D’ where theuser finishes touching, and enlarged between positions ‘E’ and ‘F’ wherethe user starts touching the progress bar 130.

Specifically, the user may start touching the progress bar 130 with hisor her fingertips or with another object at positions ‘E’ and ‘F’ anddrag the points in contact to positions ‘C’ and ‘D’, to select a sectionto be enlarged (that is, the section between positions ‘E’ and ‘F’) anda section to be displayed without enlargement (that is, the sectionbetween positions ‘C’ and ‘D’).

FIG. 2D illustrates the progress bar 130 displayed and partiallyenlarged as a result of being touched in the manner illustrated in FIG.1G. Referring to FIG. 2D, the section between positions ‘C’ and ‘E’ andthe section between positions ‘F’ and ‘D’ are indicated by a singleline, while the section between positions ‘E’ and ‘F’ is indicated bydouble lines. The position indicator ‘A’ is placed between positions ‘E’and ‘F’. As explained above, the section between positions ‘E’ and ‘F’where the user starts touching the progress bar 130 is enlarged anddisplayed, and the section between positions ‘C’ and ‘D’ where the userfinishes touching the progress bar 130 is displayed without enlargement.

However, the above example is explained only for the purpose ofillustration, and the concept of the present invention can beappropriately applied to various other examples. For example, thesection between the positions where the user starts touching theprogress bar 130 may be displayed on the touch screen 100 withoutenlargement, and the section between the positions where the userfinishes touching the progress bar 130 may be enlarged and displayed.

Furthermore, the position indicator ‘A’ may be placed in a positionother than the middle of the progress bar 130, since the progress bar130 is not enlarged with reference to the position indicator ‘A’.Moreover, while shown in FIGS. 10 through 1G as enlarging the progressbar 130 in areas around the position indicator ‘A’, it is understoodthat the position could be other than around the position indicator ‘A’such that the position indicator ‘A’ need not be included in theenlarged progress bar 130 as in FIG. 2B.

In the example explained above, the progress bar 130 is enlarged when anenlargement command is input by a user. However, this is merelyexemplary, and other processes may be applied. For example, visual oraudio information may be provided to the user to notify that the commandto enlarge a certain section of the progress bar 130 has beensuccessfully input and that the section of the progress bar 130 is beingenlarged as instructed. For example, a message ‘ENLARGEMENT IN PROGRESS’or corresponding audio information may be output in response to theenlargement command, thereby enabling the user to prepare for the nextoperation with respect to the enlargement of the progress bar 130.

Alternatively, a certain section of the progress bar 130, which a userintends to enlarge, may be highlighted before being enlarged, inresponse to the enlargement command. In this manner, the user is able tocheck if the section has been input correctly before the progress bar130 is enlarged, and if not, is able to re-input the section he or sheintends to enlarge.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a multimedia apparatus 300 capable ofproviding a GUI including an enlargeable progress bar 130 according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3,the multimedia apparatus 300 includes a multimedia function block 310, agraphical user interface (GUI) unit 320, a touch screen 100, and acontrol unit 330. However, it is understood that additional units couldbe included in addition to or instead of the shown multimedia functionblock 310, a graphical user interface (GUI) unit 320, a touch screen100, and a control unit 330. For instance, the multimedia apparatus 300could include a camera, a wireless network interface, a phone, removablemedia, a remote control, etc. Moreover, the touch screen 100 can beincluded separately from the apparatus 300 and be connected through awired and/or wireless connection.

The multimedia function block 310 carries out general functions of amultimedia apparatus, including playback, skipping, stopping, orshifting a section of a file. The GUI unit 320 adds a GUI to a videobeing generated by the multimedia function block 310. The touch screen100 is employed to receive user operations by touching or dragging, andto display a GUI-incorporated video using the items output from the GUIunit 320. The control unit 330 controls the operation of the multimediafunction block 310 according to the user input received through thetouch screen 100 or other possible input mechanisms (not illustrated).Examples of such mechanisms include clickwheels, keyboards, remotecontrols, etc.

The control unit 330 controls the GUI unit 320 so that the GUI isdisplayed on the touch screen 100 according to the user input.Specifically, if the user inputs a command through the touch screen 100to display the progress bar 130 regarding the content being currentlyplayed, the control unit 330 controls the GUI unit 320 so that theprogress bar 130 is displayed on the currently played content. If theuser inputs commands (such as play 155, stop 153, or skip 151, 157)through the item set 150 of the touch screen 100, the control unit 330plays, stops or skips the content according to the input command. If theuser inputs a command to change the position indicator 135 through theprogress bar 130 of the touch screen 100, the control unit 330 controlsthe GUI unit 320 to move the position indicator 135 to the positiontouched by the user, and controls the multimedia function block 310 todisplay the content from the position that corresponds to the shiftedposition.

If the user inputs a command to enlarge the progress bar 130 of thetouch screen 100, the control unit 330 controls the GUI unit 320 toenlarge a section between the positions selected by the user previouslyor currently, and to display the result.

If the user inputs a command to enlarge a certain portion of theprogress bar 130 of the touch screen 100, the control unit 330 controlsthe GUI unit 320 to highlight the intended section of the progress bar130 before enlarging and displaying the selected section.

If the user inputs a command to enlarge the progress bar 130 of thetouch screen 100, the control unit 330 controls the multimedia functionblock 310 and the GUI unit 320 so that visual or audio information isoutput to indicate that the command is received, and the progress bar130 is enlarged and displayed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing a GUIaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Inoperation S410, the control unit 330 determines whether a command toplay content is input or not. In operation S410-N, if no input isreceived, the method ends. In operation 5410-Y, if a play command isinput, the control unit 330 causes the corresponding content to bedisplayed on the touch screen 100 along with the corresponding progressbar 130 in operation S420.

In operation S430, the control unit 330 determines whether a command toenlarge the progress bar 130 is input or not. If no command is received,the method moves to operation S450 in S430-N. In operation S430-Y, ifthe enlargement command is received, the control unit 330 controls theGUI unit 320 to enlarge and display the progress bar 130. In operationS440, the enlarged progress bar 130 is displayed along with the content.As a result, the user can operate the progress bar 130 more convenientlyand precisely, since the progress bar 130 is increased in size.

In operation S450, the control unit 330 determines whether the positionindicator 135 is moved on the progress bar 130, thereby indicating theuser's intention to change the position of the content to be playedback. In operation S450-Y, if the user's intention to change theposition of the content to be played back is input, in operation S460,the control unit 330 controls the multimedia function block 310 todisplay the content from the position input by the user. If no commandis received, the method ends in operation S450-N.

Since the progress bar 130 can be increased in size, the user canoperate the progress bar 130 conveniently and with greater precision.

While the exemplary embodiments explained above employed the enlargeableprogress bar 130 to explain the method of displaying a GUI itemaccording to the present invention, these are only employed for the sakeof explanation, and those skilled in the art will understand thatexamples other than the progress bar 130 are applicable as a GUI item.For instance, aspects can be applied to a GUI item in which differentdisplayed locations correspond to different properties of content beingrecorded or reproduced. For example, the GUI item can be a statuscontrol bar such as a volume bar or a channel bar, or scroll bar may beadequately employed, thereby allowing more precise control over volume,channel selection, and scrolling within documents. Further, whiledescribed in terms control of contents using bars for two dimensionalcontrol of the contents, the progress bar 130 could be a threedimensional representation of properties of the contents, such as wherethe GUI item is rectangular or circular to allow changes in contentproperties in multiple dimensions, directions, and/or combinations ofdirections and speed. Lastly, while described in terms of enlarging theprogress bar 130, it is understood that the command could be to adjust asize of the progress bar 130, such as through reducing as opposed toenlarging the progress bar 130.

As explained above, according to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention, the GUI item is enlarged and displayed forconvenience of the user, thereby enabling the user to operate theprogress bar more correctly and conveniently. Additionally, superbvisual effect is provided by the enlargeable GUI item. Further, whilenot required, it is understood that aspects of the invention can beimplemented using software and/or firmware stored on computer readablemedia for use by one or more processors or computers. Examples of suchprocessors can include the multimedia function block 310, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) unit 320, a touch screen 100, and/or the controlunit 330 shown in FIG. 3.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic apparatus comprising: a displayunit; and a control unit configured to control the display unit todisplay a first progress bar to provide a user with playback positioninformation of a content which is currently being played back, using aposition indicator of the first progress bar, to change the playbackposition of the content in response to a first touch input of which aduration of an initial touch applied to the position indicator isshorter than a predetermined time and a consecutive touch drag appliedto the position indicator on the first progress bar based on a firstplayback duration corresponding to the first progress bar, and todisplay a second progress bar instead of the first progress bar inresponse to a second touch input of which duration of an initial touchapplied to the position indicator is greater than the predetermined timeor equal to the predetermined time and to change the playback positionof the content in response to a consecutive touch drag applied to theposition indicator on the second progress bar based on a second playbackduration corresponding to the second progress bar, wherein the firstprogress bar transitions to the second progress bar in response to theinitial touch applied to the position indicator, and the second progressbar is displayed with the position indicator remaining at a samelocation on the display unit as a location of the position indicatorprior to the transition.
 2. The display apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe second progress bar corresponding to a section of an entire lengthof the content has a finer resolution than the first progress barcorresponding to the entire length of the content.
 3. The displayapparatus of claim 1, wherein a length of the first progress bar and alength of the second progress bar displayed on the display unit aresubstantially the same.
 4. An electronic apparatus comprising: a displayunit; and a control unit configured to control the display unit todisplay a first progress bar to provide a user with playback positioninformation of a content which is currently being played back, using aposition indicator of the first progress bar, to change the playbackposition of the content when a first touch input is received of which aduration of an initial touch applied to the position indicator that isdisplayed for a predetermined period of time is shorter than apredetermined time and a consecutive touch drag applied to the positionindicator on the first progress bar based on a first playback durationcorresponding to the first progress bar, and to display a secondprogress bar instead of the first progress bar in response to a secondtouch input of which a duration of an initial touch applied to theposition indicator is greater than the predetermined time and to changethe playback position of the content in response to a consecutive touchdrag applied to the position indicator on the second progress bar basedon a second playback duration corresponding to the second progress bar,wherein the first progress bar transitions to the second progress bar inresponse to the initial touch applied to the position indicator, and thesecond progress bar is displayed with the position indicator remainingat a same location on the display unit as a location of the positionindicator prior to the transition.
 5. The display apparatus of claim 4,wherein the second progress bar corresponding to a section of an entirelength of the content has a finer resolution than the first progress barcorresponding to the entire length of the content.
 6. An electronicapparatus comprising: a display unit; and a control unit configured tocontrol the display unit to display a first progress bar to provide auser with playback position information of a content which is currentlyplayed back, using a position indicator of the first progress bar, tochange the playback position of the content in response to where a firsttouch input of which a duration of an initial touch applied to theposition indicator that is displayed is shorter than a predeterminedtime and a consecutive touch drag applied to the position indicator onthe first progress bar based on a first playback duration correspondingto the first progress bar, and to display a second progress bar insteadof the first progress bar in response to a second touch input of which aduration of an initial touch applied to the position indicator isgreater than the predetermined time and to change the playback positionof the content in response to a consecutive touch drag applied to theposition indicator on the second progress bar based on a second playbackduration corresponding to the second progress bar, wherein the firstprogress bar transition to the second progress bar in response to theinitial touch applied to the position indicator, and the second progressbar is displayed with the position indicator remaining at a samelocation on the display unit as a location of the position indicatorprior to the transition.
 7. The display apparatus of claim 6, whereinthe second progress bar corresponding to a section of an entire lengthof the content has a finer resolution than the first progress barcorresponding to the entire length of the content.
 8. The displayapparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of the first touch input andthe second touch input is received through a user touch on the displayunit.
 9. An electronic apparatus comprising: a display unit; and acontrol unit configured to control the display unit to display a firstprogress bar to provide a user with playback position information of acontent which is currently being played back, using a position indicatorof the first progress bar, to change the playback position of thecontent when a first touch input is received of which a duration of aninitial touch applied to the position indicator is shorter than apredetermined time and a consecutive touch drag applied to the positionindicator on the first progress bar based on a first playback durationcorresponding to the first progress bar, and to display a secondprogress bar instead of the first progress bar in response to a secondtouch input of which a duration of an initial touch applied to theposition indicator is greater than the predetermined time and to changethe playback position of the content in response to a consecutive touchdrag applied to the position indicator on the second progress bar basedon a second playback duration corresponding to the second progress bar,wherein the first progress bar transitions to the second progress bar inresponse to the initial touch applied to the position indicator, and thesecond progress bar is displayed with the position indicator remainingat a same location on the display unit as a location of the positionindicator prior to the transition.
 10. The display apparatus of claim 9,wherein the second progress bar corresponding to a section of an entirelength of the content has a finer resolution than the first progress barcorresponding to the entire length of the content.
 11. The displayapparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first touch input andthe second touch input is received through a user touch on the displayunit.